Moving? Make it eco-friendly!

As far as activities we dread, moving generally ranks right up there with a trip to the dentist. And for someone who cares about the earth, moving is made worse by the seemingly inevitable amount of waste created during a move: the cardboard boxes, packaging peanuts and/or bubble wrap that all tend to go to the trash where they’re destined to a few hundred years of decomposition in a landfill… but moving your household goods does not have to have a harmful impact on the environment.

To start

Avoid being a pack-rat. The less stuff you accumulate in the first place, the less you have to pick up and move elsewhere.

Pay it forward

Give away or sell any non-essential items. Have a yard sale, or donate your things to your local battered women’s shelter, Goodwill or Salvation Army.

Give the grub away too!

Chances are your refrigerator is stacked with perishables that won't survive the trek cross-town (or cross-country if you'd moving that far) so get in touch with neighbors or nearby friends who might like your perishable food stuffs such as last loaves of bread and cartons of milk.

Recycle the gadgets!

Getting rid of electronics? Greenpeace estimates that 20 to 50 million tons of electronics waste is discarded globally every year! Don’t add to it. Log on to MyGreenElectronics.org, where you can search for local recycling drop-off points by zip code and product category. You'll also find tips and info on electronics recycling, and a cool energy calculator that will show you how much juice each product uses.

Plan ahead!

Know a move is imminent? Hang on to every sizable carton that comes your way.

Keep your options open

Check your stash for alternatives to bubble wrap and styrofoam “packing peanuts.” There are less conventional materials you can use for padding fragile belongings. Used padding envelopes and mailers, as well as those plastic air pillows online booksellers are fond of, can also provide extra cushioning for delicate items. Or try used plastic bags, crushed up wads of newspaper, and egg cartons, as well as old blankets and towels.

Troll your hood

Still need packing materials? Scout your neighborhood for retail stores are usually happy to give away boxes they would normally pay to dump or recycle. Or try freecycling, an online way to give stuff you don’t want to people who do.

Rent the eco-friendly way

You can rent reusable and/or recyclable packing materials from the numerous companies that have been created with “green moving” in mind. Rent-a-Crate and Earth_Friendly_Moving lease out reusable plastic moving crates that are crushproof and stackable.

The GREEN truck route

Many moving companies are jumping on the green bandwagon by embracing biodiesel trucks.

Clean green style

Use only eco-friendly cleaning products when scrubbing down both the old and the new digs. Health food stores all carry green cleaners that you can use yourself or instruct the hired help to use.

Cut down on junk mail

The U.S. Postal Service sells lists of permanent address changes to direct marketers but doesn’t do that with temporary addresses, so save yourself from the piles of junk mail by filing a temporary change of address with your post office.

Sources:

About.com: EnvironmentalIssues

The New York Times

Care2.com

TimesOnline.com

The Daily Green